1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to cartons and packaging assemblies therefor and, in particular, to packaging assemblies having translucent or transparent portions for viewing the products contained therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
For many years, appliance manufacturers preferred shipping cartons made exclusively or substantially entirely from paperboard material. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,807,804 and 3,734,389 provide shipping cartons for larger size items, particularly heavy manufactured items. U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,389 is illustrated for use with a refrigerator appliance and discloses corner post constructions formed of folded paperboard material. U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,804 provides a lifting flange at the top of the carton whereby the carton and its contents can be raised using a lift blade. The pocket for receiving the lift blade is integrally formed from folded portions of the carton blank, the top cover of the package being formed by folding over portions of the carton blank.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,437 discloses an end closure or top cap having a pocket for lifting the carton to which the closure is applied. The end closure is interlocked with sidewalls of the carton, a construction detail which is repeated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,163,290 and 3,616,986. The above carton constructions have solid sidewalls blocking the view of the carton contents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,682 discloses a folded fiberboard construction to form a corner post of a type which could be-used with the above packages. The corner post includes a hollow tubular body part and a flange at one end comprised of layers of material pressed together in intimate engagement with one another.
While the above packages have met with commercial acceptance over the years of their use, manufacturing industry and in particular the appliance manufacturing industry are turning to transparent or seethrough packages having portions through which the contents of the package may be viewed. Thus, the contents of the package may be readily inspected during shipping and transit, and also during warehousing of the commercial product, prior to delivery to a customer. Thus, if any damage is observed during the shipping and distribution process, the goods can be set aside prior to completing the product's delivery. The potential cost savings of such a system are considerable, and accordingly, interest in see-through packaging is increasing.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,986; 31891,086; and 4,811,840 show examples of see-through packages. In general, these packages have one or more hollow side portions overlaid by a plastic wrap which may be either shrink-fit to the paperboard structure, or else tightly wrapped about the paperboard structure, which serves as an internal skeleton or framework, providing the structural strength necessary for the carton, and providing a cushioning for corners of the product being shipped. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,835,986 and 3,891,086 disclose corner post constructions which are secured to top and bottom cap members. U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,986 shows an interlocking of the corner posts and cap members, the cap members having depressions formed therein for receiving ends of the corner posts. U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,840 has a pair of side panels on each side of the product being shipped. Each panel has a pair of corner posts formed from a central portion of the panel, in a manner which forms a window through which the product being shipped can be viewed. A separate base member is provided, which completely underlies the product. The panels have top portions which telescopically interfit with one another so as to overlie the product. This construction offers a fewer number of parts, compared to packages having discreet corner posts. However, the construction is relatively complex and improvements have been sought.